| LCD Soundsystem – American Dream Lyrics | 8 years ago |
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A lot of the sentiments and passages in this song remind me of my first acid trip. I think the general sentiment of the song is reflecting on the experience of partying/doing drugs while aging and having depression. James Murphy has already touched on this vein before (e.g. "losing my edge") and I get the sense that he is very self-aware about himself aging in the rock/dance scene. Here's my line-by-line analysis: "Wake up with somebody near you And at someone else's place" [This evokes a typical morning-after-party environment.] "You took acid and looked in the mirror Watched the beard crawl around on your face" [Very explicit reference to taking acid and its hallucinogenic effects. FYI you don't have to have a beard to watch a beard crawl around on your face. Also looking in the mirror while on acid is one of the scariest things ever.] "Oh, the revolution was here That would set you free from those bourgeoisie" [I think it's a typical trope that young people doing psychedelics think of themselves as revolting against the bourgeoisie in a hippie/communist way.] "In the morning everything's clearer When the sunlight exposes your age But that's okay And that's okay" [I think the clarity refers to realizing that the narrator didn't do anything particularly revolutionary, maybe even that he's too old for that, but he's telling himself that it's okay to be hold and not a young activist/revolutionary anymore.] "Grab your clothes and head to the doorway If you dance out, no one complains" [Again, reminiscent of the morning after a typical young person's party scene. I don't think the narrator actually dances out, but the lyric is a nod to the notion that young people will still feel happy and optimistic the morning after, whereas he is depressed (see next stanza).] "Find the place where you can be boring Where you won't need to explain That you're sick in the head and you wish you were dead" [As someone diagnosed with depression, this seems to be an obvious reference to experiencing a depressive episode, which can easily be caused or exacerbated by an acid come-down. There's the desire to do nothing, be your miserable self, alone and silent, and not needing to talk to anyone or explain your behaviour and suicidal thoughts to anyone.] "Or at least instead of sleeping here you prefer your own bed, come on" [I've had this exact feeling before as a depressed introvert coming down from acid at someone else's house. The "at least" refers to a compromise: if he can't commit suicide or live like a complete hermit, at least he could just spend the night in his own bed with his familiar creature comforts instead of at this party with a bunch of young happy party people.] "You just suck at self-preservation Versus someone else's pain" [To me this is a direct reference to the suicide dilemma: you'd be less miserable if you were dead, but you'd make other people miserable by killing yourself. If the narrator sucks at it, that means he can't help wanting to commit suicide even if it means it will cause other people pain.] "So you feel drained And insane And insane" [Very typical feelings associated with depression and acid come-downs.] "He was leather and you were screaming Swinging chains against the stage" [This sounds sexual to me, maybe mildly BDSM.] "And you couldn't know he was leaving But now more will go with age, you know" [I think this is a reference to relationships not lasting, and continuing to fail again and again as you get older. Stats show this is typical.] "So get up and stop your complaining You know that you're the only one who's been destroying all the fun" [This evokes the tug-o-war battle between blaming your problems on things outside your control, like aging or romantic partners, and on yourself for not pursing your own happiness but wallowing in your own misery. Again, typical of depression and probably just maturation too.] "Look what happened when you were dreaming Then punch yourself in the face" [I'm not quite sure about this line. It might be about opportunities that passed you by and the regret and self-hate that comes from realizing that you didn't seize those opportunities.] "So you kiss and you clutch but you can't fight that feeling That your one true love is just awaiting your big meeting So you never even asked for names" [This refers to the process of looking for love, and while you keep starting relationships with people, you never give them your full 100% (including not even bothering to ask their name during a one-night stand, for instance) because you think your perfect soul mate has yet to enter your life. There's a differentiation between love and sex in this stanza.] "You just look right through them as if you already came It's a drug of the heart and you can't stop the shaking 'Cause the body wants what it's terrible at taking, oh" [Following on the previous stanza, these lines refer to sex, with orgasm being a drug of the heart (literally a flood of serotonin on your brain, not unlike psychedelic drugs) that causes you to shake and look through your partner while, for a brief moment, you can't really focus on anything else but your own pleasure. I think what the body wants but is terrible at taking is a real earnest connection with someone else.] "And you can't remember the meaning But there's no going back against this California feeling" [I think James Murphy means you can't remember the meaning of love and sex, but there's no going back against the blissful pleasure you get during orgasm.] Dream (Sha-bang, sha-bang) American dream (Sha-bang, sha-bang) American dream (Sha-bang, sha-bang) American dream (Sha-bang, sha-bang, oh oh) [To me the American Dream that James Murphy is referring to is having it "all" (e.g. happiness, love, sex, eternal youth) and the desire to have it but knowing that it's impossible at the same time, also the self-sabotage in achieving this dream is evident throughout the lyrics (e.g. "you're the only one who's destroying all the fun").] In all, a thoughtful, complex expression of some of our deepest fears and desires, with specific references to sentiments of aging, psychedelic drug usage, and depression. |
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| LCD Soundsystem – Oh Baby Lyrics | 8 years ago |
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To me this is a duet between the protagonist (an addict) and his lover (real or imaginary). "Oh baby Oh baby You're having a bad dream Here in my arms Oh sugar You came to me Could all be a bad thing Doing harm " This is the lover speaking. She's cradling the protagonist in her arms as he's suffering from a bad trip (possibly a psychedelic/hallucinogen or some other harder drug, or possibly an instance of self-harm). "Oh oh oh Oh lover You run from me We move like a bad scene Shot in the dark" This is the protagonist narrating an instance (either real, or imagined, or in a dream) where he's trying to keep his lover close but she keeps leaving the toxic relationship due to his addiction or self-harm issues. "Oh but please Please wake me For my love lies patiently Please baby please And my love life waits for me" This is the narrator suffering in the present moment from a bad trip, wanting to end it but can't. He imagines or remembers his lover who would have stayed with him if he was sober. Perhaps she even promised him she would be in a relationship with him again if he was clean. "Oh love You came to me Are you having a bad time? There in your home Oh sugar Give in to me You're just having a bad dream Of ringing alarms" This is the lover (as imagined by the protagonist) comforting him again during his bad trip (complete with ringing in his ears). "Oh but please Please shake me from my lovesick patient dream Please baby please And my love plays wait and see" This is the narrator who again wants to get out of his bad trip and return to his lover sober. "Oh I'm on my knees, yeah I'm on my knees I promise I'm clean And my love life waits" The narrator is begging to end his trip and begging his lover to accept him as a clean/sober individual. "And you're already gone Yeah, you're already gone We are already home And my love life stumbles on" The narrator realizes his lover has already left him (for good?) and he has no one in his life to love, so he just stumbles from one insignificant social encounter to another. "Oh baby Lean into me There's always a side door Into the dark Into the dark, shh" The narrator imagines his lover again, during his bad trip, comforting him and telling him that he can escape the agony another way. The "side door" isn't real, just like his lover isn't real. The narrator is aware of this, he's aware that he is lying to himself to cope with his shitty existence. But it's all he can do. |
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